Shirt collar construction

ABSTRACT

A layered collar stiffener sub-assembly is preformed and inserted between the layers of a collar sub-assembly at the wing portions thereof. A single line of stitching not only completes the securement of the layers of the collar but locates and secures the collar stiffener sub-assembly therein.

United States Patent 1191 Duffy 1451 Dec. 17, 1974 [54] SHIRT COLLAR CONSTRUCTION 2,769,979 11/1956 Driesbach 2 132 3,132,347 5/1964 Light 2/132 [75] Edward Duffy wyckoffr 3,170,166 2/1965 Weiss 2/132 73 Assignee; Manhattan Industries, Inc New 3,621,491 11/1971 Hall et a1. 2/131 York, NY. Primary Examiner-Werner H. Schroeder [22] Ffled June 1973 Attorney, Agent, or FirmWi1liam R. Liberman, Esq. [21] Appl. No.2 367,325

[57] ABSTRACT [52] US. Cl. ..2/l32 A lay re coll r s iffener s -a sem ly is preformed [51] Int. Cl. ..A41b 3/06, A41b 3/00 and inserted between he y r of a ollar ub- [58] Field of Search 2/132, 131, 143 ly at h wing por ion hereof. A ingle line of stitching not only completes the securement of the [56] References Cited layers of the collar but locates and secures the collar UNITED STATES PATENTS stiffener sub-assembly therein. 2,701,880 2/1955 Sucher 2/132 3 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures SHIRT COLLAR CONSTRUCTION BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION With the advent of long points in the wings of collars of ordinary dress wear shirts, it became necessary to provide some means to prevent the collar wings or the points thereof from curling. Many expedients have been attempted, these including the permanent location of stiffeners between the layers of the collar in various ways, the formation of pockets between the layers of the collar to removably receive a stiffener element, and the like. While many of these expedients have functioned reasonably well to some extent, their production and assembly is a time-consuming and hence expensive operation. In the case of removable stiffening elements, their too-frequent loss and damage has presented problems in replacement.

It is, therefore, the main object of the present invention to provide a simple, permanent collar stiffener subassembly and means to secure same at the collar wings or points.

A further object of the present invention is to preform a stiffening sub-assembly wherein the curl preventing element is disposed either within or on the outer aspect of the sub-assembly and thereafter to incorporate and secure same within a collar by a single line of finishing stitches.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a collar formed of a number of layers sewn toa layered stiffening curl preventer, and stitch means simultaneously to secure the stiffener within the collar wings or points thereby to complete the collar.

The above and further objects of the present invention will be apparent in part from the following description of illustrative embodiments and in part pointed out specifically therein.

In a sense, the present invention is based on the discovery that a dress or sport shirt which includes collar point or wing stiffening means can be produced in a reduced number of operations; that is, by forming a stiffening sub-assembly, by forming the collar assembly in the usual manner, and then by uniting the stiffening to the collar assembly by a single line of stitching.

The collar of a dress shirt basically consists of an inner layer or thickness of material, an outer layer or thickness of material, and an intermediate layer of the same or of different material to provide body to the collar. Collars of dress shirts have conventionally been formed in three superposed layers of the same size and shape secured together by a single line of stitching extending along what becomes the lower edge of the collar and along the wing edges. In the patent to Ripley, U.S. Pat. No. 1,994,787, collar wing or point stiffening means are superposed directly on one of the layers or collar thicknesses. In the patent to Driesbach, U.S. Pat. No. 2,769,979, a collar stiffening assembly is separately formed and then stitched-secured to a single collar layer or thickness before the patent to Metzger, U.S. Pat. No. 2,806,223 discloses still another means of providing stiffening to a shirt collar, while the patent to Lockwood, U.S. Pat. No. 3,090.962 discloses another even more complex formation of collar stiffening means and their incorporation into a shirt collar. U.S. Pat. No. 3,300,788 to Montero is a prime example of the number of lines of stitching previously required to incorporate collar stiffening means in a collar assemgether and then turned inside out for the reception of bly, including the formation of the basic collar as outlined above.

While all of these prior approaches to the problem have been more of less successful, they have all been expensive from the standpoint of the number of sewing operations required to complete the assembly of the stiffening assemblies to the collar assemblies.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an exploded view of the assembled stiffening arrangement related to the assembled collar arrangement prior to final securement of the former within the latter;

FIG. 2 is a plan of a portion of the completed collar showing the stiffening assembly in dotted lines;

FIG. 3 is a section along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a plan of a modified form of stiffening assembly also constructed to and embodying my invention; and

FIG. 5 is a section thereof along the line 55 of FIG. 4.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Collar 10 according to the present invention is layered; three thicknesses of material being used. Outer layer 12, inner layer 14 and intermediate layer 16 are of the identical linear dimensions and shape. The three layers or thicknesses of material which may or may not be of the same material are superposed, the intermediate layer or thickness 16 on top, the inner layer 14 below that, and the outer layer 12 on the bottom. These are secured together by means of a single line of stitches 18 extending from an upper edge 20 of the collar at one wing end thereof, down along the bottom 22, and thence along the other wing edge. After three layers or thicknesses have been so stitched, the assembly is turned inside out, as is conventional, so that the outer layer or thickness is brought around, as seen in FIG. 1 thereby to define a recess or space 24 between the outer layer 12 and intermediate layer or thickness 16. It will be noted that recess 24 is defined by spaced edge portions of the three thicknesses of the material of the collar beyond stitch line 18, as best seen in the right side of FIG. 3. These portions of the collar as 23, which meet or are closely spaced at the front, on opposite sides of the shirt neck closure, are referred to herein as the collar wings.

Stiffener 30 comprises a sandwich of two pieces of lining material 32, 34 with a stay 36 sandwiched therebetween, the thicknesses 32, 34 being fused together to lock stay 36 therebetween in the desired position. Mylar may be used as the material of the stay, and, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a similar stay 40 may be secured to the two thickness 42, 44 by a line of stitching 46. The stiffener-lining material 32, 34 may be generally of the same size and shape, the inner edges 32a, 34a coinciding, or one of the pieces, as 42, may be of smaller size, the ends of the larger piece extending beyond the edges of the smaller piece.

Stiffener 30 is then inserted in pocket or recess 24, between the outer layer 12 and the inner layer 16, extending as close a possible to stitch line 18 uniting the collar thicknesses. Stiffener 30 is then permanently secured in position by top stitching 48 which is V4 inch or inch from the lower edges of the collar wings. The upper edges of the collar are free for subsequent disposition and within the neckband of the shirt. A special feature of the present invention is that stitching 48 will pass through the leading 3nd 37 of stay 36, and the leading end 41 of stay 40 when the stiffener arrangement of FIGS. 4 and 5 is incorporated in a collar.

The benefits and advantages of this collar construction include the fact that the stay can extend fully to the point thereby permanently eliminating curled collar points or wings; extra plies and additional stitches are eliminated and the turning of the collar greatly simplifled; increased production and lower manufacturing costs are achieved; a wider variety of collar lining materials may be used since it is not necessary to fuse or stitch or otherwise secure stay pocket assemblies to the collar lining as is conventional in the industry. For instance if a taffeta lining of such synthetic as polyester is used, it is extremely difficult to fuse a collar stay patch to such lining. Any material can be used with the present collar assembly since there is no fusing in the final assembly.

I claim:

1. A shirt collar assembly comprising a multi-layered sandwich, the inner marginal inturned edges thereof being secured only along the bottom and side edges thereof by a line of stitches, said layers otherwise being free of securement, the stitch line being disposed outof-sight inside the sandwich, a preformed stiffening patch within each collar wing comprising a second multi-layered sandwich, at least two layers of which are heat-fused together, and a third layer of which second sandwich is a relatively stiff, curl-preventing, thin, flat strip, the wing and lower edges of the fused layers of the patch coinciding in shape and length to the collar wing and disposed in offset relation to the coinciding wing and the lower edges of the collar, the patch being free of securement within the collar wing by the first referred to stitch line, and secured within the collar sandwich only by a second stitch line extending through all the layers of the collar sandwich and through all the layers of the stiffening patch at least along the coinciding lower and wing edges of the patch and collar sandwiches.

2. A shirt collar as in claim 1 wherein the curl preventing strip is disposed inside the fused layers of the patch as a medial layer thereof.

3. A shirt collar as in claim 1 wherein the curlpreventing strip comprises an outer layer of the patch sandwich and a third line of stitches extends lengthwise of the said strip through all the layers of the patch. 

1. A shirt collar assembly comprising a multi-layered sandwich, the inner marginal inturned edges thereof being secured only along the bottom and side edges thereof by a line of stitches, said layers otherwise being free of securement, the stitch line being disposed out-of-sight inside the sandwich, a preformed stiffening patch within each collar wing comprising a second multi-layered sandwich, at least two layers of which are heatfused together, and a third layer of which second sandwich is a relatively stiff, curl-preventing, thin, flat strip, the wing and lower edges of the fused layers of the patch coinciding in shape and length to the collar wing and disposed in offset relation to the coinciding wing and the lower edges of the collar, the patch being free of securement within the collar wing by the first referred to stitch line, and secured within the collar sandwich only by a second stitch line extending through all the layers of the collar sandwich and through all the layers of the stiffening patch at least along the coinciding lower and wing edges of the patch and collar sandwiches.
 2. A shirt collar as in claim 1 wherein the curl preventing strip is disposed inside the fused layers of the patch as a medial layer thereof.
 3. A shirt collar as in claim 1 wherein the curl-preventing strip comprises an outer layer of the patch sandwich and a third line of stitches extends lengthwise of the said strip through all the layers of the patch. 